Art, engineering: found materials

Self-tutoring about art and engineering: the tutor mentions the idea of using what’s kept on hand.

I recently learned of the idea of found materials in art, and how they can introduce spontaneity and even widen the audience of a certain work.

Today I had to repair a bag that was torn along a hem. I recalled someone had given me a little starter-kit for cross-stitch a few days back. I’d kept it; I don’t throw things away easily.

I found the kit at the bottom of my backpack. The thread supplied therein was generous; some became the material I used to make the repair.

Now, instead of the bottom of my backpack, that needle and remaining thread have their own home. Who knows when I might need them again?

Waste not, want not, eh?